1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection control method and system for a mobile communication system forming communications areas with a plurality of cells such as a portable telephone system, personal handphone system (PHS) or paging system.
When a communication takes place in mobile communication systems, it is required to prevent the communication from making trouble (interfering with other activities) around the places where the communication service is utilized.
Recently, there have been increasing cases where usage of mobile communications (for example, a speech communication, and a ringing tone) in public places (for example, a train, movie theater, concert hall, waiting room, and place of testing) has disturbed many people in the vicinity of the around mobile stations. Particularly, trouble in movie theaters, concert halls and places of testing can be so serious that the persons who manage these facilities are required to avoid occurrence of such troubles.
On the other hand, it is incumbent on the mobile communication users to exercise social responsibility. Although the users are requested not to use the mobile stations in limited areas or are requested to turn off power, satisfactory results are not generally obtained. For example, the users may fail to turn off power. Therefore, the requirement to restrict use of communication services in a particular facility which provides services which need silence remains unfulfilled.
The above-mentioned background needs a harmonization between convenience in use of radio waves and social responsibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram of prior art. References #1, #2 and #3 respectively indicate areas in which mobile communication services of base or center stations CS1, CS2 and CS3 are providable. A reference #4 indicates an area in which use of mobile communication services is restricted. It is assumed that a mobile station MS is located in area #4.
Conventionally, a facility management person involved in area #4 merely requests the users not to use the mobile stations or requests the users to practice self-control.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of another prior art. In order to prevent mobile communication services from being available in use-limited area #4, the areas #1 and #3 of the base stations CS1 and CS3 are arranged so as not to overlap the use-limited area #4. However, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the service areas is decreased when it is wished to positively define a particular area in which the mobile communication services are not available. If a use-limited area is requested to be defined within an existing service area, it is necessary to rearrange the peripheral areas on a large scale.
FIG. 3 is a diagram of yet another prior art. In a case where it is requested to define a use-limited area in the existing service area #2, an interference wave emitting device capable of emitting a very strong interference wave sufficient to cover the frequency band for use in mobile communication services is employed. The use of mobile communications within the range which the radio wave reaches is interfered with, and is thus forcedly restricted.
However, there are drawbacks in the systems shown in FIGS. 1 through 3.
In the system shown in FIG. 1, it is very difficult to cause the users to keep the rules. It is impossible to cope with an accident of missing turnig off power.
In the system shown in FIG. 2, it is difficult to cope with minute demands on the use-limited areas and a request to define a use-limiting area in the existing system. There is also another drawback in which an insensitive area is likely to be eventually formed. Thus, the degree of freedom of arrangement of service providable areas is low, so that the service providable areas cannot be arranged effectively and efficiently.
In the system shown in FIG. 3, regular communications that take place in the licensed or authorized situation are intentionally interfered with. This is contrary to the laws and regulations, and is not practicable.
Even if the system shown in FIG. 3 is lawfully authorized, an interference directed to a particular communication in an area eventually prevents communications with all mobile stations in the area from taking place. Thus, all types of communication services become unavailable to all. This holds true even for communication services that are not likely to make trouble for those around the mobile station or its operator. It will be noted that a similar problem occurs in the system shown in FIG. 2. It is very difficult to acknowledge the current environments of the places at which the users are located, that is, to determine whether the users are located in any of the service providable areas. Thus, the users cannot be informed of the reason why the mobile communication services are not available at the places. This degrades effectiveness and reliability of mobile communication services themselves.
It is a general object of the present invention to efficiently and effectively prevent communications from making trouble for those around the mobile station or its operator while providing minimum communication services.
This object of the present invention is achieved by a connection control method for a mobile communication system, comprising the steps of: (a) classifying services of base stations according to service levels; (b) storing, in each of the base stations, identification information corresponding to one or a plurality of providable service levels in a memory part; (c) comparing a service level requested by a mobile station with the one or plurality of providable service levels based on the identification information stored in the memory part; and (d) selecting, in each base station, a service to be provided on the basis of a result of the step (c), so that services of service levels independently established for every area can be provided to the mobile stations each registered in a respective one of the base stations.
The above object of the present invention is also achieved by a connection control method for a mobile communication system, comprising the steps of: (a) classifying services of base stations according to service levels; (b) storing, in each of the base stations, identification information corresponding to one or a plurality of providable service levels in a memory part; (c) registering, at the time of registering location information concerning a mobile station in a management center, the identification information stored in the memory part of a base station having an area in which said mobile station is located so that the location information is related to the identification information; (d) comparing, in a communication network, a service level requested by a calling mobile station with the one or plurality of providable service levels based on the identification information stored in the memory part together with registered location information concerning a called mobile station; and (e) selecting, in each base station, a service to be provided on the basis of a result of the step (d), so that services of service levels independently established for every area can be provided to the mobile stations each registered in a respective one of the base stations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connection control device implementing the above-mentioned method and a base station also implementing the method.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a management center, and a mobile communication system involved in the method.